Boston Red Sox starter Sonny Gray left Monday’s Patriots’ Day game early with an apparent injury after being pulled against the Tigers. Gray was removed from the game with an apparent lower-body injury, and fans and media from the MLB world reacted quickly.
In Monday’s Patriots’ Day game, with first pitch at 11 a.m., Gray threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits, a walk and two strikeouts before appearing to experience discomfort in his right leg.
After delivering ball four to Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres, Gray stepped off the mound and reached his hand to the back of his right leg while bending his knees slightly. As he returned to the mound, Gray crouched again briefly, drawing a visit from manager Alex Cora, pitching coach Andrew Bailey and team trainer Brandon Henry.
After throwing one warm-up pitch, Gray continued to appear uncomfortable, and Cora took the ball from the pitcher and removed Gray from the game.
The Red Sox soon announced that Gray left the game with right hamstring tightness.
The Red Sox were leading the game 2-1 after losing two straight to the Tigers over the weekend when Gray left the game. The Tigers tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning off relievers Danny Coulombe and Zack Kelly.
MLB Fans React to Gray Injury
Reactions came in quickly on social media after the Gray injury.
“Sonny Gray was just about to implode and he gets hurt and pulled,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
“Sonny Gray is coming out of this game. I’m gonna be sick,” wrote Red Sox fan @bostonbleedred.
“Sonny Gray getting hurt is bad news for the Red Sox. Both today and in the future,” wrote XamSportsConsulting.
“Action paused at Fenway Park in the top of the third inning after the 36-year-old issued a walk to put two runners on with two outs. He was visited by pitching coach Andrew Bailey and exited with a trainer after throwing a warmup pitch. Gray bent over and appeared to yell in anger before departing the game,” wrote Red Sox correspondent Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.
“Gray has been one of the more durable pitchers in baseball over the past three seasons, logging at least 166 1/3 innings in each campaign,” reported beat writer Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “His last injured list stint came at the end of the 2024 season when he was shut down due to flexor tendinitis in his forearm.”
Top Prospect Payton Tolle in Line For Call-Up
With a 4.97 ERA, 25th in MLB, Red Sox starters are off to a horrific start to the 2026 season. Boston starters had thrown only 105 innings prior to Monday’s early game. That was the eighth-fewest of any starting staff in baseball.
That ranking will surely drop after Monday, following Gray’s 2 2/3-inning start.
Red Sox No. 1 prospect Payton Tolle is likely to be called up from Triple-A Worcester if Gray ends up on the injured list, Cotillo reported.
“If Gray needs to miss any time, rookie lefty Payton Tolle will likely get the call to the majors. Tolle has allowed five earned runs (and struck out 19 batters) in 15 innings over three starts at Triple-A Worcester and was summoned to Boston over the weekend as a potential option to make a spot start if weather caused postponements or delays,” the MassLive reporter wrote.
MLB World Reacts to Sonny Gray Injury as Red Sox Pull Starter From Tigers Game